My Growing Taste Buds!

Ya know, I was raised a sweets girl!
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No, no; not a "sweet" girl --although yes, I was probably a very sweet little girl [do not ask for references from my mother!!]. But you know how some kids were salty -- always going for the potato chips; or the sours -- loving those lip-puckering/ eye-ball crossing jaw breakers? Well, I always went for the sugar -- therefore, a sweets girl! And I still am a sweets girl! (Much to the chagrin of my once buns-o-steel and non-waving upper arms!)
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My Ex and his family introduced me to some of the joys of sour and salty: sauerkraut with sausage or pork; swiss chard with butter and vinegar; fresh tomatoes with salt and pepper. But one thing that he loved that I could not abide was dill pickles! I only allowed them in the house, living in MY fridge next to the civilized food because of my love and duty as his wife! (Yet another of my sacrifice's that he never really grasped!! MEN!!)

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I mean, pickles!! There so .... well ..... common!!
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And that smell!!! A lady's home should never smell of pickles!!
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And they're so .... phallic in shape! (I do beg your pardon!) But really; how many good Christian women have you ever seen with a dill!! Huh! Huh! How many??


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But somewhere over the past 10 years, my taste buds have changed. One day at MacDonald's (aka Dirty Macs) I didn't take the pickles off my burger; and it was okay! It was an interesting new taste sensation! And then another time while at a get-together, I decided to try the dill pickle as well as the carrot stick; and it was okay! It was an interesting new taste sensation!
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And I got to rethinking my opinion of dills. I thought:
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*"You know..... God might be alright with dill pickles. After all, they make kosher dills (and lots of them). And some Jewish people are kosher. And God loves Jewish people. Why, Jesus was Jewish! He may have even eaten dill pickles!!"
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"And then there's that whole Christmas Pickle story. And I know God is really big on stories 'cause the Bible is full of them; and I think He kinda likes Christmas because it really is all about Him!"


So ... YES! I'm pretty sure that God's okay with dill pickles!"
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And so now I can say with truth and sincerity,

I LIKE DILL PICKLES!!

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PS -- Serve them up like this and I could probably say I LOVE dill pickles!!!

Summer 2009 R.I.P.

It is with sadness that I report the official passing of Summer 2009. What finally killed it for me, you ask? Let me give you a hint ........................

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There are two things that can immediately make me cry:

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This morning when I awoke, gone was the sunshine of yesterday! It was raining, raining, raining; and leaves littered the ground and the roadways. I thought about dressing for church, and I knew that I couldn't go out in public in heels again this year without adequate protection ..... protection for me from the elements; and protection for the rest of you from the bright, shiny, pastie whiteness of my pretty gams! I didn't want to be blinding anyone!
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(You know the rules! No white after Labour Day --- and you've been pushing the envelope too long, Sandy!)
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I just knew, this was it; summer is officially over for me!
Au revoir l'été. L'automne long de vie!

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Hold on .............. I need a moment here!*


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Okay, I'm fine now! As my good Irish Catholic friend Antonia would say: "I've offered it up to Jesus".
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And if I MUST finally say goodbye to summer ..... if I MUST do the decent thing and cover myself .... if I MUST put on panty hose, let's do it in style. Dig, dig, dig in the back of the closet for the "items we can only wear for short periods of time"; and voila!
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I wore these pretty shoes. Panty hose and heels DO look nice together! These are my Italian leather shoes from (you guessed it) Value Village. Look at those beautiful heels!

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But they're also killers!! I've always told my girls "Beauty is painful!" So, as soon as I got home from church, I made a sandwich and did this:

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And as the rain and the leaves continued to fall, the girls and I spent the afternoon leisurely.

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Mahone Bay Scarecrow Festival

I spent Saturday afternoon hanging out with the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Mick Jager, Ray Charles, Tina Turner and Diana Ross. I played cards with Alice and the Queen of Hearts, had tea with the Royal Family and crazy-quilted a car! Impossible you say?
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As I used to say in my teens -- Many things are highly improbable but not necessarily impossible! It's all one's perception!!
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I was at the Scarecrow Festival in Mahone Bay with the international students and the host families. We had 3 hours to wander the streets of this beautiful little village and take in all the sights and sounds and tastes. Come walk with me and meet a few of the "people" that I hung out with ............

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On our way back to Bayview School to meet for pizza, we saw one of the prettiest maple trees. Our coordinator, Brenda, just had to take one to wear!

I think as Canadians, we're allowed to steal maple leaves from people's trees -- it's part of our constitution or something! Kind of like being allowed to pick up stray beavers or eat moose meat! Ya think??

PINK SATURDAY - Oct 3.09

Time to participate in Pink Saturday.

Because of my purchase today, I thought I'd share with you some of my favorite pink jewellery. When I viewed the pictures, some of them look more red than pink. But trust me -- it's all pink!

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My purchase today was this long, pink beaded necklace -- just $1 at the Sally Ann! Look at the detail in the second picture ..... Isn't it great that something this pretty can cost you so little!

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This bracelet was one of my favorite things to wear this summer. I got it at Value Village for just $1.00!

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This brooch was another Value Village find; but it was one of the more expensive items that I've purchased there. I think I paid around $8.00 for it. But it's so beautiful! It almost looks vintage but it isn't!

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I bought these Red Hatter earrings at a local drug store a number of years ago -- I think they were only around $3.99. Although the picture shows more red than pink, when they're on your ears, all you see are the pink rhinestones! Very glittery!!!

They're for the Red Hatter wanna-bees -- the under 50 gals! But I still wear them even if I am over 50! After all, isn't that what the "When I am an Old Woman, I shall wear Purple" poem is all about? -- not conforming to society!! (I've yet to sit on the sidewalk and drink gin; I just keep thinking about what that would do to my hemorrhoids!! To say nothing about the fact that I'm not sure I could get back up again!!)

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This pretty bracelet and earring set was an "Hola!" gift from my Mexican student, Adriana. It's been a favorite of mine as well.

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And lastly, another favorite. I got this inexpensive but lovely pink rhinestone circle pendant at that same drugstore (Pharmasave have really nice jewellery sometimes); cost about $5.00.

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Happy Pink Saturday everyone! And don't forget -- October is Breast Cancer Awareness month! Be really pink this month and book your mammogram and do your own breast check!

Fertilizer Friday - Oct 2.09

Here's what my garden looks like this week ---sad, but still doing it's best to hang onto it's beauty. (Hey! That's just like me!!!)

Rabbit, Rabbit Everyone!

The leaves are not only changing color but they're also beginning to fall! So I know now that summer is really over.

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But the weather is still lovely and mild here in the Bridgewater today.

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I've yet to dig out my pantie hose and put them on!

And that's always a good thing, right?

A sense of false security pervades my very being!!